


my neighbor isn't totoro

by gudetama (elementary)



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Married Couple, Neighbors, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 20:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14576892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elementary/pseuds/gudetama
Summary: ‘Percival and Newt’ sounds like some kind of comedic duo who could have been the next Fry and Laurie; but no, they’re the names of Jeanie’s new neighbours





	my neighbor isn't totoro

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the [Fantastic Beasts Calendar](https://fantasticbeastscalendar.tumblr.com/) thing!
> 
> This was inspired from wanting to observe Gramander as their neighbour and also [this cute comic](https://twitter.com/nimbyi0i/status/910912924738129920) (yes, I love Napollya too lol). I think this ended up more about the character than Gramander oops. Enjoy!

‘Percival and Newt’ sounds like some kind of comedic duo who could have been the next Fry and Laurie; but no, they’re the names of Jeanie’s new neighbours, a pair of newlyweds who moved just down the hall from her last week and are now introducing themselves. With a plate of “They’re homemade,” chocolate chip cookies. A plate of cookies so awesome that a single bite of one has her making embarrassing noises—in the privacy of her apartment, thankfully—and finishing half of them in one sitting with a cup of coffee.

They’re as different as two people can get, she recalls as she licks the last of the crumbs off her fingers. One taller than the other, dark features and greyscale clothing as opposed to light, bright, and colourful, serious versus smiles. Opposites really do attract, she supposes.

The rest of the cookies call out to her, tempts her to go knocking on their door for more. Instead, she restrains herself like the civilized being she is rather than a cookie monster, and thanks them politely the next time she saw them. Well, one of them.

“Oh, I’m so glad you liked them,” Newt says as they step into the elevator together. “It’s my husband’s grandmother’s recipe, so he’ll be happy to hear that.”

It makes Jeanie blink once in surprise, because her initial impression of the other man didn’t indicate that he's a baker. The surprise dissipates quickly, however; the old saying of never judging by appearance once again staying true.

Newt then asks if it’d be alright if they share with her occasionally, because, “He bakes often, but I can’t possibly finish them all by myself.”

The man is slightly pink by the end of it, stuttering on a couple words and voice wavering on the last note. Jeanie notes then that he must be a shy sort, and that she should tamper down her bubbling reaction to the kind offer. So, with a suppressed smile, she accepts with a nod.

Which isn’t such a good idea because a steady supply of baked goods will do more for her mood than her waistline, but mind over matter, right?

(“That isn’t how you apply that saying,” Tess says with a roll of her eyes to which Jeanie just shrugs.)

 

 

The next week, she sees Newt on her way out for the morning shift at her part-time job as he's going for a walk with his dogs, a pair of adopted Labradors.

“Niffler and Dougal,” he introduces like a proud parent, patting both their heads.

“What about your husband?” she asks, glancing up at him from where she’s crouched to pet the animals.

“He needs sleep,” Newt answers with a helpless shrug and a small quirk of the lips.

Ah, that type. “Not a morning person, then.”

“You could say that,” and Newt’s smile widens a bit as his eyes goes unfocused, expression softening as he obviously recalls something.

 _That’s so cute_.

They wish each other a good day and go their separate ways, only to run awkwardly into each other at the grocery store halfway through her shift. Newt seems to find it especially awkward, eyes roaming this way and that as Jeanie scans the items—mostly baking ingredients, to her delight—but he still offers a quick, aborted thing of a wave as he leaves.

Jeanie huffs a quiet laugh to herself, then greets the next customer.

 

 

Unintentionally, they keep running into each other after that; though to be fair, half those times is because Newt is delivering the latest homemade sweets made by his husband. Speaking of, Percival is quite the elusive one considering how often she sees Newt. But according to the man, Percival works long, ridiculous hours at his government job and so Newt tries to let him sleep as much as possible.

“He’s a bit of a workaholic,” Newt sighs at some point, and it’s as much fondness as it is exasperation.

And as if proving Newt’s words, Percival is absent yet again due to a work emergency when Jeanie goes to return their plate after polishing off the cupcakes. On a Saturday.

She'll be heading off to work in a bit, too, but that’s beside the point.

Aren’t they still newlyweds?

“Well, since he can’t be home much, I visit him at work,” Newt answers directly.

Somehow, she’s sitting across from him at his dining table, the plate she brought back in the sink and a steaming cup of tea in front of her. Newt invited her in and she said yes for some reason and. Yeah.

“Pack lunches and ride the bike over, and Percival will come down to the cafeteria from his office for a meal break. They have a nice courtyard behind the building but it’s still too cold to eat outside, unfortunately,” Newt continues.

Jeanie takes a sip of fragrant tea. “You prefer outdoors?”

“Oh, yes,” Newt nods, leaning back in his chair and his arm crosses over his chest, the other holding up his tea. “I’m working on my PhD for animal behaviours at the moment and I take my studies a bit too the extreme, I’m told.”

Then it’s as if Newt transforms into a different person—lively and enthusiastic, eyes sparkling as he explains his current thesis work and findings which goes off on a few tangents, and it’s an overload of information but reveals much about his passion for and extensive knowledge of the subject. He stops abruptly in the middle of something about frogs kicking wasps and his expression turns sheepish, changes back into the shy reservation of before.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, hiding behind his cup. “That happens occasionally.”

“It’s alright, was pretty interesting,” Jeanie assures, wincing internally at her generic word choice. “I mean it; I watch documentaries sometimes but the way you tell it is way better.”

“That so?” Newt asks, tentative and hopeful.

(“He’s just like a puppy, I swear,” Jeanie groans. “Kind of makes you want to give him hot chocolate and tuck him in with tons of blankets and pillows.”

“Isn’t he older than you,” Tess points out, unimpressed. “But you’re right; these brownies _are_  amazing. I’m actually kind of jealous.”

“I’ll call you over next time I get a batch of something,” Jeanie laughs. “Though seriously, help me think of something to thank them properly.”)

After that day, Newt isn’t as nervous around her anymore (as if he ever had anything to be frightened of besides her eating the plate along with those amazing brownies) and smiles a bit more warmly when he sees her.

 _Sir’s charm stat has increased by five points_.

 

 

Tess, being a good friend, actually tags along on a whole-day shopping spree to find a gift for Jeanie’s neighbours which results in them needing the closest horizontal surface to lie down on, which happens to be Jeanie’s place. They’re dead on their feet, trudges through the main lobby and into the elevators like zombies.

“I’m taking your bed,” Tess informs her.

“Whatever,” Jeanie mumbles.

The elevator doors open and they—freeze. Or Jeanie does, at least.

“Hello,” the man—and it takes her a moment to recognize him because it has been a good two months since she last saw him—says before his face scrunches in contemplation. “Jeanie, was it?”

“Yes, hi, si—mister, um,” Jeanie stumbles.

Before she can finish her sentence, the other raises a brow, mouth curling a little at the corners in amusement. “Percival, please. Why don't you step out?”

“Right,” and Jeanie can feel herself redden as she and Tess do just that while Percival holds the door for them, then steps inside the elevator himself.

“Have a good evening,” he nods and then the doors slide closed.

Tess nudges her in her ribs and when Jeanie turns to look, she’s making a betrayed face and tipping her head towards the elevator. It’s obvious she’s asking about the very handsome man in a dark, fitted suit who acted both familiar and unfamiliar with her. Beyond Tess’s shoulder, Jeanie spots Newt, shifting awkwardly outside his door and glancing her way as if undecided whether he should catch her attention or not. Jeanie offers a wave first—Tess also turning around to see—and Newt smiles, nods, then heads inside. He must have been seeing Percival off.

“He’s the other husband, Tess,” Jeanie sighs, dropping her hand to take Tess’s arm and lead her the other way.

“Of course he’s taken,” Tess grumbles, then after a pause, “Wow, they’re pretty cute together.”

“Right?” Jeanie gushes before she can stop herself. “But they hardly seem to be around each other.”

Tess hums and Jeanie can tell the excitement is already over for her.

Oh well.

 

 

A few days later, Jeanie is surprised to be greeted in the morning by not the usual one but both. The exchange is almost as awkward as that first one because it’s only the second time she’s seeing them both at once. Newt says ‘hello’ with his usual smile but that’s about it. Thankfully, the dogs are too impatient to deal with their human nonsense and drag the couple away. Something has her watching them—their backs, to be exact—as they walk off, their shoulders bumping from the non-existent space between them. Percival must say something because Newt turns his head towards him and grins something dazzling.

 _Wow_ , Jeanie thinks. _So he can smile like that_.

The look Percival gives him in return has Jeanie turning away flustered, feeling like she witnessed something terribly private.

Mentally smacking herself, she heads to work.

 

 

As time passes, Percival settles into his new job and drops by every now and then to pick up coffee from one of Jeanie’s workplaces. Her co-workers gush about him despite the band on his left ring finger because he walks in every time looking like a model or a movie star playing a multibillion-corporation’s CEO. It’s weird to hear some of the things because she knows him yet doesn’t.

Those reactions are nothing compared to when they come together, however.

The thing is, Newt and Percival are way cuter than men in their thirties and forties (respectively) have any right to be.

It didn’t take long for Jeanie to discover that they tend to get lost in each other like they’re in a completely different world and no one else is in it except them. She caught them several times already in this state at various locations, including the snacks aisle at her other job while she was stocking the shelves and they were giggling to themselves like a pair of children.

The first time they both happen to come in for coffee as a couple, the (mostly) female staff go nuts. They’re holding hands, already in the middle of a conversation as they walk up to the counter. They don’t notice her until they come around to the side to wait for their drinks where they exchange greetings. Dougal and Niffler sit outside by the fire hydrant and Jeanie asks how they’re doing as she makes their orders.

“Better now,” Newt answers with a slight smile. “It never quite advanced into a cold.”

“That’s good,” Jeanie nods, unconsciously notes their proximity, Percival having let go to wrap his arm casually around Newt’s waist.

That’s about it for polite neighbourly exchanges and the two go back to whatever conversation they were having prior to ordering. By the time the drinks are done, they're softly bickering with one another but more amusedly than anything. They thank her when she slides the drinks over (double-shot Americano and a London Fog, hilariously) and leave with Newt's arm hooked on Percival's.

Jeanie doesn’t hear the end of it from her co-workers for the rest of the day.

 

 

It's rare, beautiful spring-like weather in the month of May when Jeanie resumes her part-time dog-walking. She feels all the more appreciative after a tumultuous April. April showers bring May flowers, the saying goes, but it had been more like April storms of varying precipitation. She’s surprised anything even survived to bloom again.

What isn’t a surprise is catching her neighbours in the nearby parks on those walks; they’re dedicated owners, after all. With the sun bright on them and smiling like proud parents as the dogs run around overexcited, they look like one of those pet food ads that promises health and longevity for your precious pet.

What also isn’t a surprise is that they take turns subtly staring at the other as if their eyes and their husband are opposing forces of a magnet.

Newt catches Percival staring first, and in the blink of an eye, he swoops down and kisses the man. Percival visibly startles at that and when Newt straightens just as quickly, the man is noticeably red while his husband smiles satisfied.

Dear god, those two.

Jeanie—on the other path with five leashes in her hand from where they’re standing—shakes her head incredulously even as she smiles a bit at the cute display. The next time she glances back curiously, she finds Percival glaring daggers into the side of Newt’s face. She’s sure that Newt’s about to get a scolding, but when the man turns at the weight of the look, Percival—and she swears there’s no other word for it— _leaps_. His target is Newt’s mouth in an attempt to return the attack(?) from earlier, hand simultaneously going up and around the man’s neck, then—

Newt _raises his head_  and Percival falls short, nose almost bumping against the point of Newt’s chin.

A laugh bursts out of Jeanie a little too loudly and she snaps her mouth shut, turning away and cursing under her breath, ushers the dogs along before she’s caught.

 

 

(“You’d think the more time passes, they’d get used to it—but no, it’s like the complete opposite. Ridiculously sweet, I tell you.”

“What I think is that you have an unhealthy amount of observations about your gay-married neighbours. You sure you don’t have a crush on them?” Tess says with a scrutinizing look, picking up another homemade chocolate chip cookie.

“Maybe if that was actually the case I wouldn’t sound like a creep. Or I still would, but anyway. They’re actually everywhere I go,” Jeanie shrugs.

“Right. So, what are you getting them this time in thanks? I think you gave them enough baking utensils to last a lifetime or two.”

“Don’t know yet, but it’s Niffler’s birthday soon so I think they might appreciate something for him.”

Tess bites into the cookie, narrows her eyes. “You know their dog’s birthday.”

“Don’t give me that look,” Jeanie retorts. “How about _you_  think of something for once? You eat more of the treats than I do at this point.”

“How dare you spout those filthy lies.”

“Shush and help me find what’s good for large, dorky Labradors.”)


End file.
